


the reunion

by shiznit



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-18 09:03:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16992054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiznit/pseuds/shiznit
Summary: Ty visits Kit in Devon at Julian's suggestion.





	1. Chapter 1

It was Julian's idea. Or rather, it was Jem's idea to invite Emma to spend three weeks with them in Devon after her travel year, and Julian suggested that Ty went with them.  
Which was how Ty stood in front of a portal that would take him to Devon, where he would see Kit for the first time in over a year.

' _You two were so close, wouldn't it be nice to see him again?' Julian had said when he first approached Ty about it. Ty had wanted to reply that they weren't close anymore, that Kit had made it painfully clear that he hadn't wanted to ever know Ty, and that he was certain he wouldn't want to see him ever again._  
_When Ty didn't reply Julian said, 'if you really hate it you can come back home straight away, I promise.'_  
_Ty thought about it, weighing up all the possible outcomes, all the potential things that could go wrong. There were an awful lot of ways this trip could end in further heartache and disaster. But despite this, there were a lot of potential ways this could go right, and these imaginary scenarios wouldn't stop bubbling up in his mind. No matter how much he tried he couldn't solve this problem with facts and logic._  
_He knew this: Kit hated him, had left without saying goodbye and Ty had never stopped missing him since._  
_He also knew that Julian wouldn't hesitate to bring him back home if he needed to get out of there, that he could trust his older brother no matter what. He knew that Emma would look out for him whilst they were there._  
_He also knew that more than anything else, he wanted to see Kit again, no matter how anxious that made him._  
_'Okay,' he agreed, after a long silence. 'I'll go, as long as you promise to come and get me if I don't like it.'_  
_'Of course Ty.'_

Two days later, standing in front of the portal, Ty wasn't so sure he had made the right decision. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his side, tuning out the chatter and hubbub around him.  
'See you on the other side,' Emma called as she stepped through the portal, disappearing from view. He took a deep breath and stepped forwards, letting the portal rip at his clothes and hair before spitting him out in a spacious kitchen. It took him a moment to take in his surroundings before he became aware of Emma excitedly greeting someone, and then a lower, calmer voice replying warmly.  
He looked around and saw Jem with his arms around Emma, Tessa beside them, an incandescent smile on her face and a baby in her arms. Ty couldn't focus on them though, because standing off to the side, an unreadable expression on his face, was _his_ Kit.  
Not your Kit, he scolded himself mentally. Kit was a stranger to him now, he even looked different, having grown taller and stronger over the past year and a half.  
He realised, belatedly, that he had been staring at Kit for an awfully long time, and everyone was watching him expectantly.  
He half lifted a hand in greeting, forcing his gaze back to Jem and Tessa.  
'Hello. Thank you for having me,' he said, trying to ignore Emma's questioning stare.  
'We're happy to have you, Tiberius.' Jem said kindly, thankfully choosing not to mention his reaction to seeing Kit.  
'Shall I show you both to your rooms?' Tessa interjected. There was a chorus of agreements, and Tessa shepherded Ty and Emma out of the room.

-  
When Jem told Kit that Ty was coming to visit, Kit had descended into an all consuming gay panic. He wasn't ready to face Ty or the deep humiliation he still felt. He certainly wasn't prepared to be living under the same roof as him for three whole weeks.  
'Christopher?' Jem said gently, bringing Kit crashing back to the present. 'Are you alright?'  
Kit forced a smile. It wasn't hard; he might be panicking about Ty but he loved living in Devon, and regardless of what happened with Ty, he still had a place where he belonged, and that wouldn't change at the end of the three week visit. Besides, he knew that he had made the right choice in coming here, even if some days he missed Ty so intently he could feel his chest aching.

'I'm alright,' he said, and it was true. He could hear Tessa and baby will laughing in the other room, so he went to join them, pushing all thoughts of a troubled dark haired boy out of his mind.

When Ty stepped out of the portal however, Kit felt his heart flip over in his chest. His hair was styled differently, neater than he remembered, and he was so tall. Surely he hadn't grown that much in a year and a half, Kit wondered. He realised with a jolt of shock that Ty's steel grey gaze had landed on him and they were staring right at each other.  
_This is how I die_ , he thought.  
He was distantly aware of a tense silence in the room, but he couldn't bring himself to look away. Luckily, Ty didn't seem to be having that problem, as he looked over to Jem and answered a question in the low, throaty voice Kit remembered. He sounded older now, more mature than he had been when he was a scared fifteen year old. That didn't stop him from wanting to reach out and pull Ty close in a fierce hug. He managed to restrain himself, instead focusing on a distant spot on the wall whilst Tessa ushered both Ty and Emma out, handing Will to Jem in the process.

 

Later, when Ty was installed in one of the guest rooms, and he had unpacked and packed his suitcase, unsure of how long he would be staying, he allowed himself to acknowledge the rush of intense feelings he had felt towards Kit.  
After a year at the Scholomance he had managed to push aside thoughts of Kit and learnt to cope with his grief. Magnus had been right; the change had helped. Seeing Kit had been a rude awakening from the distant world of the Scholomance, where he had been able to begin to knit himself back together and appreciate life despite the Livvy shaped cavern in his soul. It was like a cold splash of water, forcing him to acknowledge that the feelings towards Kit he had ignored in the aftermath of Livvy's death had persisted. He sank down to a crouch on the floor, his mind twisting and turning relentlessly. It was as if whatever he did he couldn't escape the roaring of emotions inside his head, the confusing mass of tangled thoughts. He was distantly aware of his hands fluttering by his head, his breaths becoming short and shallow. He rocked backwards and forwards, until he felt strong arms wrap around him, holding him tightly.  
He was reminded of the night on the roof in London, when Kit had unflinchingly supported Ty, holding him afloat despite the fact he felt like the world was breaking apart underneath him. He let himself be held until his breathing returned to normal and he was able to relax. Emma let go of him, concern etched into every line of her face.  
'Do you need me to call Julian?,' she asked quietly.  
Ty was about to say yes, but found himself hesitating. If he left, so soon after arriving, there was a chance he wouldn't get to see Kit again for a long time. Worse, Julian would want to know what had caused this, and Ty didn't know how to tell Julian about Kit without telling him about Livvy, and he didn't want to lie to his brother.  
'No,' he managed to say. 'No I don't want that. Please don't tell Julian about this, he'll only worry.'  
Emma nodded, albeit a little reluctantly, then reached out to ruffle his hair, just as Julian always did.  
She appeared to be struggling to find something to say, so Ty filled the silence for her. 'How did you know? That I was-' he cut himself off, unwilling to finish his sentence.  
Emma seemed to understand though. 'Kit told me actually. Said you sounded upset. Though I don't know how he knew that, given his room is the other end of the corridor,' she added.  
Ty was momentarily stunned. More questions buzzed around his head. How did Kit know, and why did he get Emma instead of just coming in himself?  
'I'm going for a walk,' he said, rising to his feet and pushing past Emma before she could protest.  
It took him a long time to clear his head, but when he finally crawled into bed later that night, he fell asleep instantly. He dreamed of Kit's smile, Kit's voice, Kit's arms around him.


	2. chapter 2

When Kit came down to breakfast the next morning, everyone else was already seated at the table, chattering loudly. He had barely slept at all, his mind preoccupied with one million thoughts of Ty and the events of the previous evening. Tessa smiled brightly at him as he took his seat, and Emma waved. Ty was noticeably not looking at him, but Kit was fine with that. Completely fine. He focused instead on Jem, who was patiently trying to get Will to eat his baby food by pretending the spoon was an aeroplane, with varying degrees of success. Kit wiggled his fingers at Will, who gurgled in response, waving his small arms around and accidentally connecting one of his fists with the spoon, resulting in the spoon, and the food, clattering onto the floor.

Kit winced. 'Sorry,' he said, although he didn't feel particularly guilty as Tessa was hiding an amused smile behind her hand. Kit was startled by the sound of Ty's chair scraping back as he got up to pick up the spoon, briefly meeting Kit's eyes before his gaze flitted away.

'Thank you, Tiberius,' Jem said quietly, who had retrieved some kitchen towel and was wiping up the mess.

'Maybe you could show Ty around today?' Emma piped up suddenly, failing to notice the meaningful glares both Ty and Kit were sending her. 'You know, give him the tour?'

'That's a great idea Emma, I'm sure Kit would be more than happy to do that.' Tessa added. Kit suspected this was some kind of instant karma for the baby food incident.

He nodded, hoping nobody would pick up on the panic he was feeling. 'I'd like that,' Ty said, completely unexpectedly, his voice low and scratchy from sleep. Kit could do nothing except nod again, more firmly this time. 'Me too,' he added, although just saying those two words felt like free falling off a cliff.

-

Ty didn't know what made him say that to Kit at breakfast. Perhaps it was the look of vulnerable uncertainty written over Kit's face, or maybe it was the sudden impulse to be alone with Kit, to speak to him again. Besides, he had questions about the night before, and only Kit could answer them. When they stepped out the front door together into the morning sun though, there was no magical impulse enabling him to say anything to Kit. All his words had dried up in his throat. He had thought that after a year and a half of thinking of remarks to say to Kit, he would have something to say now. But he didn't, and they spent the first ten minutes of their walk in excruciating silence. Ty focused on silently naming all the different species of butterfly he could see. He was aware of Kit watching him, and he risked a sideways glance at him and instantly regretted it. The sunlight lit Kit's hair up, making it appear almost gold, and his skin was practically glowing. Ty's mouth went dry. It was Kit who broke the silence, so suddenly that it made Ty jump.

'Ty - I.' He paused, agitation clear in his posture. 'I'm sorry.' He said at length. The words came out sounding small and sad.

Ty was unsure whether he was apologizing for startling him or for something else.

'You're sorry,' he parroted, unable to form his own words.

''Yes. I should never have lied to you, about what I wanted. Or said what I said.' He seemed to be wrestling with something inside himself.

'What you said,' Ty repeated again. A small part of his brain was reminded of the myth of Echo, the nymph, but he squashed that part down and tried to focus on thinking of something coherent to say. He felt overwhelmed again now Kit was actually acknowledging what had happened that night. All he could hear was the same sentence, replaying over and over again in his mind.

_I wish I'd never known you. I wish I'd never known you. I wish I'd never known you._

He was distantly aware of Kit continuing to speak, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. 'Do you?' he demanded. 'Wish you had never known me?'

Kit's face went blank with shock, quickly replaced by a deep sorrow. 'No,' he said, voice ragged with desperation. 'I didn't mean it. Knowing you, being your friend was the greatest privilege of my life. I'm sorry I threw it all back in your face.'

Ty had never understood why people said things they didn't mean. Julian explained to him once that people said those things when they were angry or upset, but why would Kit by upset?

'Why did you leave without saying goodbye if you didn't mean it?' Ty didn't like how shaky his voice sounded, didn't like losing control of his emotions in front of others. 'I was scared and humiliated. Ashamed,' Kit took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair. _Humiliated and ashamed?_ 'Look. After I told you that I - that I loved you, you never responded, and then you told Livvy that nothing else mattered except her. It felt like you were saying that I wasn't important, that you would never love me back.' Ty opened his mouth to protest, but Kit shook his head, holding up a hand. 'I know now I was wrong. I was young, and afraid and ashamed of what I was feeling, I didn't stop to consider how you were feeling. I was being selfish, and when Tessa offered me a home, I didn't want to see you because I was afraid to confront my feelings again.' Ty considered this. It made sense. He hadn't realised that mixed up in his overwhelming love for Kit, that he had been angry at him as well. Angry for leaving without saying goodbye. But now that anger dissipated, and he felt as if a knot in his chest had come undone, as if he could finally breathe.

'I'm sorry too, Kit,' he said, 'I didn't think of what you were feeling either. I love you too. I did then, and I do now.' There was a beat of silence, and for a terrifying moment Ty thought Kit was going to reject him, to say his feelings had changed. Then Kit moved towards him, stopping just inches away from him. 'Can I kiss you?' he asked, voice low. Ty responded by angling his head down, so their lips could meet. The kiss was soft, nothing more than a brief touching of lips, but something about it made Ty feel like a dam was breaking inside his chest. Tears leaked out under his closed eyelids, and he felt himself sob. Kit didn't flinch, just held him tightly as he let himself break apart in Kit's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i meant to clear up the thing with Kit knowing about Ty's meltdown the previous evening but then I didn't, but I do intend to write a chapter entirely of fluff where I will clear it up   
> find me @alinepenhallowss on tumblr and come and yell at me about qoaad or literally anything else !

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try and update as much as possible, I didn't intend for this to get as long as it did! You can find me on tumblr @alinepenhallowss , please come talk to me about qoaad!


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